runagmc

I can't tell without doing some research if it's gimei or not (maybe not even after research), but from what I can see you probably did ok for what you paid. It looks like a Shinto/Shinshinto wakizashi to me. As long as there are no flaws that I missed, you shouldn't lose money on it. You can send it to the NTHK-NPO shinsa in Tampa if you want to get another papered attribution.

Very nice, Fred... the close-ups are surprising. I didn't expect the hada to be that nice, after seeing the full length pics first. I've got a wakizashi that is sowewhat (not totally) similar that I have thought might be Mihara (or something Yamato, or with Yamato influenced), but I'm really not sure... P.S. The nioi-guchi has heat damage from where it looks like someone added an umegane (on the other side)by some method involving heat. It almost looks like a spot-weld.... And there are several more similar spots on the sword... so... it's very much fatally flawed. It was my first sword. Still, probably could have done worse for the $160 I spent on it...

Hi Brian, Maybe I'll let you borrow it for display... :lol: I like it too, I just wish I could find his fishing pole! But... like I said, it seems to be quite well done - being finished all over. What I mean is (as Malcolm suggests) there are no areas at all where the workmanship is lesser. There are even some inlays of other alloys - on the hat, and the turtles eyes. I wonder if the "nanako type" punch work on much of the skin would have been done after casting, too? They look to be, but I don't know anything about cast statues. I DO know a little about traditional Japanese metalworking, having made some tools, and done some carving and nanako myself. I've even done uchidashi, and ended up with some decent menuki (IMO). Now, I need to learn Ford's secrets to awesome patina ... Anyway, the reason I posted this here is I thought maybe some of our members (especially those living in Japan, or the East in general), might have seen enough similar items to have some idea about it's value and collectability... although, I probably would only sell it if it was a substantial amount, since it has some sentimental value for me. Maybe, I'll try the site Malcolm suggested...

Thanks for taking your time to reply, Malcolm. As far as the rectangular cut-out on the underside of the turtle: there is a long bronze (or some copper alloy) screw that passes through the cut-out, and through the hole on the top of the turtle, and finally screws into the plate soldered in the underside of the Urashima Taro casting... the screw is bent in such a way that it keeps the man from moving when mounted and screwed on. Kind of hard to explain, but hopefully that made some sense. Anyway, I dont know if the way it is now is original, or if it was originally something like you suggest... Here is the underside of the man...

Hi all, I have a cast bronze statue of Urashima Taro (a character from a Japanese story), and I wonder if anyone can give any valuation, or any comments at all for that matter. The workmanship is good and the patina is nice. He is missing the fishing pole that would go in his left hand, unless I can find it somewhere . I was told this was aquired by my grandfather during his military service. Here are some pics... I will be glad to add more, or answer questions if needed. Thanks in advance... Also, I found this somewhat similar example - http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/ ... d=&page=10

Jean, I thought the same thing, but I don't know if they maybe would dress a mekugi-ana with files or stones to clean it up? I would guess so. I don't see any burring or anything from drilling, but then again that could have been cleaned up, too, so...?

As envious as I am, I'm glad that, since you have them, hopefully we will at least get to see some good pics at some point...

I have read that at times Nagashige was thought to be the same smith as Nagayoshi (Chogi), but that the current thinking (at least from this source) is that Nagashige was Chogi's brother... I assume you meant to write Nagayoshi here, since it looks like that's what the oshigata says... kinda hard to see, though... Anyway, about the owner... I only WISH I had it... :D

To expand, 1. Hi 2. Zen Hizen is a province 3. Ichi 4. Mon 5. Ji Ichimonji is a school of sword making from early Koto, known for putting the character Ichi on some of their swords. The name Ichimonji has been used occasionally by smiths who may, or may not, have any real connection to the original Bizen schools. Original Ichimonji styles are immulated very often... 6. De 7. wa Dewa is a province 8. Kami Dewa no Kami is a title, literally read as "lord of Dewa province"... 9. Yuki 10. Hiro Dewa no Kami Yukihiro is a well known smith of the Hizen Tadayoshi school in the 1600s... I can't remember how many, but there are multiple generations. Also, I'm sure MANY gimei exist... your blade has to be judged on it's merits to determine if it's a genuine mei, or not... even if gimei, it can be a good sword... I rememeber seeing Yukihiro signing with the "Ichi" kanji, but not "Ichimonji"... someone else may have better info, or remember better...

Persoanlly, I only see a nakago that has been corroded and probably cleaned at some point, but I can't see any areas that look like there was a mei crushed... Of course, it's hard to tell much with all the glare...

Hi Markus, have you ever written at all about your background and how you came to be so knowledgeable about the language, and other aspects, of Japan. If yes, where? If no, please do, if you care to. If you don't care to, that's OK too... I still thank you for sharing your knowledge here. :D

Hi Kurt, for what it's worth, I think these are wise words; We all begin/began at the bottom, and need/needed understanding and guidance from teachers (the people who have already gained the knowledge that we seek) to get anywhere. However, hardheadedness, or the lack of any effort to learn, should not be tolerated much by those teaching... and though it's nice when people TRY to remain polite, I think we have to leave that to the MODS discretion, for the most part. Also, I try to keep in mind that there are MANY people on NMB for whom English is not their native language. This can lead to perceived rudeness, and other misunderstandings, IMO...

Good question Jean. I know I've seen many shobu-zukuri looking tanto, but they may have been mostly moroha-zukuri... I'll look through some of my pics and see if I can find some true shobu-zukuri with mune...

Does this look like an Umegane... if so, hopefully it won't continue to rust away underneath. It may be hrd to tell in a burnished area... Oil and be careful wiping so the rust doesn't end up scratching blade...

I pretty much agree with Paul, but to add to the list of greats... Kanemitsu. Who knows if it was one or two generations Also Hasebe school... Also LOVE some of the best katate-uchigatana... Shitahara, Sengo, some of the great Osafune smiths of that time... Edit to say, favorite sword may have to be 'Odenta'... just to go with an obvious one...

Sounds good... It would also be interesting to see more type specific studies, like say, the percentage of tanto out of a sample group that are shobu, hira, kanmuri zukuri, etc.... For something like that it may be better (or more interesting) to collect blades only from a specific period... Many things COULD be done along this line, and I'm sure some have been already...

I'm surprised there weren't more ko-wakizashi in the 36-38cm range... Anyway, I also wonder how much sales (what kind of swords aoi-art likes to buy and sell) influences all this? Could that have someting to do with the lack of daito between 60-65cm?... or not?... :D Anyway, pretty interesting, even if not always surprising... Thanks for all the hard work...

No, I was just wondering... and your assumptions are sound in my eyes...

Hi Peter, what do you think of as "middle rank"?...in monetary value, I mean...

I didn't see any stamps, and I don't know this smith. Why are we assuming this to be non-traditional? @ Forrest- You can wipe the blade with mineral, or machine, oil for the time being. Also, if you can learn what a hamon/boshi is, and see if it remains intact on your sword, you may be able to sell it and make profit to someone who knows enough to have it restored. This might be an outside possibility, but still possible... and better than ruining the sword by trying to restore it yourself.

I haven't looked at the swords, but Chris B. has given you some very good things to consider before making your purchase. It's important to understand, in your own mind, what you are aiming for when buying something unecessary that doesn't have an obvious, or set, market value. Once you know WHY you want something, and have considerd that you may need to sell the item at some point, then it becomes much easier to decide WHAT you want. IMO, Don't buy something just because another collector tells you it's what you should want. Understand WHY you should want it, and IF it appeals to you, more importantly... P.S. All that said, everyone was only trying to give solid advise... and it was solid advice, but it was made better when put into perspective by Chris B., I think...

I would like to say thanks to everyone participating, whether it be in teaching, learning, administrating, or any mix of those. It's easy for us to take for granted the fact that we get to communicate with the rest of the WORLD about swords, and many other things, through THIS forum. I will try not to take it for granted...

Only text... http://www.sho-shin.com/zenjo.html

Maybe I missed something, but the manner of the tagane that I outlined seem to match with the mei labeled as nidai a few posts back in the 4 mei comparison. Did I miss something? If so, sorry for wasting time...

I wish there were some better close pics of the blade... unless I missed them. Either way, great stuff. thanks for posting Chris...